[net.unix-wizar] Unix on Personal Computers

edelson (03/10/83)

Does anyone know of a version of UNIX or a UNIX-like operating
system in-being or under development
for the size of personal computer which is coming into
vogue for the undergraduate?  Several schools are requiring all students
to own (or rent, etc.) personal computers as part of their equipment, and
it would seem to be a grand opportunity if UNIX could be brought up on a 
machine in the few K$ cost range.

iy47ab (03/13/83)

Very definitely YES.  Now that microsoft has come up with XENIX (UNIX
in disguise), others are following suit and it is likely that soon UNIX
will be available for a large variety of microcomputers.  Also, if you
get the "C" compiler for the Apple II, you will find that it runs on a sort
of "pseudo-UNIX", embodying a lot of UNIX commands and making the transition
both easy and pleasant.

Lady Arwen of UCSD

bernie (03/16/83)

Just for the record, it's worth noting that every major operating system
for a 16-bit micro has been written in C.  Not just Unix/Xenix and other
licensed Unix derivatives, and all the Unix lookalikes (e.g. Qunix), but
the latest releases of both CP/M and MSDOS (also called PCDOS or SB-86).
Interesting, eh?  (I'm Canadian).
				--Bernie Roehl
				...decvax!watmath!watarts!bernie

dyer (03/23/83)

Not so!  CP/M, CP/M+, CP/M-86 and MSDOS are still written in their
native assembly languages, with maybe a little PL/M thrown in for
variety (MSDOS V.2 might be in C, not sure.)  I believe, of the
CP/M clones, only CP/M-68 was written in C from the ground up.

gnu (03/25/83)

I believe MSDOS V.2 is assembler in the kernel but C in the user programs.

But to go back to the original comment, all the operating systems
for 16-bit micros HAVE been written in C.  You certainly can't call
CP/M an operating system.  An I/O supervisor perhaps.

	John Gilmore, Sun Microsystems